Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib awards actor Tony Shalhoub in Washington, on Jan.9, 2023. (Credit: Ministry of Foreign Affairs)
BEIRUT — Caretaker Foreign Affairs Minister Abdallah Bou Habib on Monday awarded medals to six people of Lebanese origin residing in the United States to salute their works in the fields of science, health, economy and astronomy, the state-run National News Agency reported.
Among the six individuals awarded at the Lebanese embassy in Washington is Emmy Award-winning actor Tony Shalhoub, best known for his role as detective Adrian Monk in the American TV series Monk, which ran from 2002 to 2009.
Economist Saleh Nsouli — a former director at the International Monetary Fund — also received an appreciation medal, as did Jbeil-born AUB alumnus Amin Barakat, a nephrologist who identified a rare genetic disorder known as the Barakat syndrome.
Medals were also awarded to astronomer George Helou, the executive director of the Infrared Processing and Analysis Center (IPAC) at NASA; bioengineer Anthony Atallah, director of the Wake Forest Institute for Regenerative Medicine in North Carolina; and James Elias Corey (derivative of the surname, Khoury), 1990 recipient of the Nobel Prize in Chemistry for his "development of the theory and methodology of organic synthesis"
During a ceremony, Bou Habib praised "the Lebanese innovative energy, which always is the main support for Lebanon."